Control
by Deja Vu 22
Summary: Abbadon is obsessed with a Hell on Earth, with ALL bowing before her, including the angels. She is especially Hell-bent on getting the Winchesters on the rack (the irony of it all too much for her to pass up) and Gabriel as her lapdog. It's war between Heaven and Hell, and when Abbadon hears that Castiel, powered up on Purgatory souls, is in Heaven's jail, how can she pass that up?
1. Breakout

**Title: Control**

 **A/N: This is the second part of the story Sound the Bugle, which can be found on my profile (there's only four stories there, only two of which being Supernatural, so it shouldn't be hard to find). I highly recommend you read that first, it's only three chapters long and adds some backstory to this. If you're lazy and don't want to, I guess you can struggle through this without it. This takes place a couple of years after the Winchesters leave Castiel in Heaven's prison to deal with the Purgatory souls under Gabriel's guidance. Abbadon is the newest big bad, and she is Hell-bent on making a Hell on Earth and Heaven. But she doesn't want to kill those who go against her, she wants everyone to serve her as the Demon Queen. She starts kidnapping angels and Righteous humans to torture them in Hell and turn them into her most loyal supporters. Everyone will bow to the Queen. Throughout the course of these two years, the skirmishes with Abbadon had grown to full blown war, and there is now an demon assault on Heaven and the angels are fighting their way through Hell to recover their lost brethren. This is where we pick up.  
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Conflict was stirring the air and disturbing the calm peace Castiel had been able to find in the quiet refuge of a relatively safe corner of his mind. For once, the disturbance was not merely the eternal war that took place inside Castiel's vessel as the Leviathan battered at his wall in strategic waves that wore him down to his last fraying nerve. No, such painful strain was familiar to Castiel and did not explain the way Cas's muscles instinctively tensed for battle or his hair stood on end. The copper tang of the air and resonant rings of war that no one could truly smell or hear was the reasons for the soldier in Castiel to brace himself for battle.

Heaven's prison was quiet, undisturbed as usual, and most of the occupants had no idea as to any problems outside the secluded area. Only a select few, the prisoners bred for conflict who had seen too many battles to not trust the instinct that told them something bad was happening just out of range of their finely tuned senses, moved about restlessly as needles pricked into their muscles in anticipation or fear.

Castiel could feel Gadreel moving restlessly a few cells over. Much like Cas, the garden's guardian was a warrior and could feel the inexplicable tension of battle. Castiel sat on the stone bench quietly and restrained himself from pacing the space of the cage like a wild animal and prowling just inches from the bars.

"Calm yourself, my friend." Castiel called out to the unseen fellow prisoner. He had only a vague idea what Gadreel looked like, seeing him only a few times before he was imprisoned immediately before Lucifer's fall.

The rustling sounds of movement ceased. "Can you sense it as well, Castiel? The call of battle?"

"The call? No. But I sense the conflict."

"What I wouldn't give to be out there." Gadreel said with a tinge of longing coloring his voice.

Cas frowned and shifted uncomfortable as the souls sent a shooting pain down his vessel's spine. "You long for freedom." Castiel guessed quietly.

"I long for redemption, brother. I only want to prove my loyalty to Heaven. But what chance do I have for that in this cell?"

"Redemption." Cas muttered the word to himself, trying it out on his tongue and leaving a sour taste.

Gadreel paused. It seemed like he could sense Castiel's distaste at the word in the air. "Would you not rather have redemption than punishment, Castiel?"

There was a long silence when Cas wasn't sure if he could find an answer. Finally, "...it's an interesting concept."

"You don't believe it's possible." Disappointment painted Gadreel's tone like the blood of several humans had coated Castiel only a year prior-

Cas shook himself out of that thought process before he could fall too deeply into the hole. Thinking like that was what weakened the wall and let the souls in. Still, Gadreel was waiting for confirmation, and Castiel felt obligated to oblige. "Some acts are too unspeakable for forgiveness."

Gadreel didn't reply. It took Castiel longer than it should have for him to realize the reason for the defeated air Gadreel gave off.

"Gadreel, I was not speaking of you." Cas rushed to explain. "It is myself I cannot conceive of forgiveness for."

"You are a good angel Castiel. If anyone deserves it... it is you."

Castiel was shaking his head desperately even though the other angel couldn't see him. Before he could say anything however, a gut-wrenching scream cut off any words brewing in his throat. Suddenly, the conflict they had sensed wasn't so far away, and sounds of battle echoed in the long white hallways. The other prisoners began to stir from their own minds. Some wrapped hands around the bars of their cells and attempted to force them open as if the metal and magic enforcing them would suddenly become weaker in the wake of this new development. Castiel rose and got as close to the bars as he could without touching them.

"That was an angel's death cry." Castiel said. Though he couldn't see him, Cas was sure that Gadreel was nodding in agreement.

"They are coming." Gadreel noted as the sound of ringing footsteps grew closer.

Castiel braced himself for a fight despite being locked in the permanent cage Gabriel had made to never be opened. If the enemy did come, it was unlikely they would be able to break into Cas's cell, or break Castiel out.

Golden eyes rounded the corner at a speed that were probably against the laws of physics. Then again, Gabriel never was one to follow the rules. The last archangel skidded to a stop in front of Castiel's cell, breathing hard. Blood leaked down Gabriel's forehead into his eyes, and there was an alarming hole gaping in the archangel's light armor that he wore. The dark brown hair was tousled where it wasn't glued down with blood, no doubt from battle and possibly the presence of a helmet, present whereabouts unknown. An archangel blade was gripped tightly in his hand, knuckles a stark white in contrast to the blood that spattered it.

He would have looked the part of Warrior of God quite well if it wasn't for the smile stretching practically ear to ear or the joyous twinkle in those golden eyes.

"Hi Castiel!" Gabriel greeted, the boisterous voice sounding completely out of place in the background noise of death and violence.

"Gabriel, what's going on?"

"What, not even a hello?" Gabriel moved to the wall dividing Castiel's cell from the others and began doing... something... with the sigils marked there. Castiel's view was limited and he tried to move closer to see what his brother was doing.

"What are you doing?" He leaned even close to the bars, seeing the edge of extra markings Gabriel was adding to the sigil.

Gabriel head snapped to look at Cas. "Woah Cassy! Take a step back man! Do you want a lightning bolt jolting through you right now?"

Cas realized just how close he was to the bars, mere millimeters away and backed up several steps hurriedly.

Gabriel turned back to what he was doing, muttering under his breath about inquisitive little brothers always getting into trouble no matter what he did. He raised his voice to lecture Castiel. "I thought it was pounded into your head by now that those bars are off limits. Godstiel's multiple escape attempts must have fried your brain for good."

Castiel ignored Gabriel's lecture and returned to the more important matter at hand. "Gabriel, who's attacking Heaven?"

"Abbabitch and her Hell minions."

"Abbadon? You told me Heaven and Hell was skirmishing, not having a full out war."

"Yeah, well, I might have left out a few of the less important details Cassy."

Castiel glared. "Those are rather important details, Gabriel." He growled.

"Pssssh! Tomayto tomahto. Semantics Cas."

The sound of swords clashing rung out especially loud. Both angels glanced in the direction of the fighting getting nearer and nearer. Gabriel returned to his work on the sigil, but Castiel didn't take his eyes off the hallway, expecting demons to come flooding in any second and overwhelming his brother.

"Gabriel, you need to go. They're coming, and you're already injured."

"Not quite yet Cas. Now be quiet and let me work."

Castiel's mouth snapped shut but he spared a glance to glare at his brother.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, Gabriel pulled away from his artwork and drew close to the bars, the mischievous smile wiped away to be replaced with uncharacteristic solemnity. His golden eyes held Cas's own stubbornly, not allowing Cas to break away.

"Castiel. They are going to take Heaven's prison I can't stop it without losing more important ground. I need you to promise me something."

"Gabriel-"

"Cas, please." Gabriel cut him off.

Cas nodded slightly, still not breaking eye contact with his brother. "Anything."

"Promise me that you will follow all my orders without question. Promise me on humanity that you will listen to everything I say."

Cas only paused a beat, but the demons were getting closer. "I promise."

"No matter what, do not use your powers for anything, is that clear? Don't use your wings, don't go all McSmitey, don't touch that wall. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Cas answered, like a soldier would to his commander, because that's what they were right now. They weren't brothers, they were an angel answering to an archangel.

"Good. Now step back."

Castiel stepped back to the corner of the cell as Gabriel's eyes and hand lit up, the cell bars trembling under the power of an archangel -because of course Gabriel built in a fail-safe mechanism to break Castiel out- before the bars blew inward and Cas felt a swell of power encompass him as the sigils failed to repress his power. For a moment he was almost overwhelmed-

And then Gabriel clapped sigiled metal cuffs on Cas's wrists, and the power lessened -barely- but enough for Castiel to regain control once again. It took him several moments for it to register that Gabriel was speaking to him, his mouth moving, hands gripping his shoulders desperately. With a snap, the sound boomed back into full surround sound, nearly deafening Castiel. "-on Cas! Come on back buddy, I can't have you check out on me right now." Cas's eyes focused once again on Gabriel's and the archangel stopped his pleading. "You with me now, kiddo?"

Cas nodded slightly, feeling like porcelain that will break at the slightest movement.

"Alright, come on. We gotta go. Just take it easy, okay?"

Again, a tiny nod, but Castiel didn't try and move from where he was. Pure terror lit up his eyes, and somehow his brother read that in him and nodded gently. He took his hand and gently led him down the halls, surrounding him in his comforting grace.

A different grace reached out and touched Castiel as well, giving him a sad farewell as he passed. Cas drew to a stop, his hand slipping out of Gabriel's as he turned to look at the owner of the grace, recognizing it immediately even without touching it before.

"Castiel, we need to go." Gabriel turned back and grabbed Cas's hand again, but stopped to look at the occupant when Castiel stayed put.

Gadreel and Gabriel stared each other down, two brothers gauging the worthiness of the other.

Castiel broke their staring contest with a weak voice, barely above a raspy whisper, pleading with Gabriel. "Set him free, Gabriel. He will fight for Heaven willingly. I will vouch for his loyalty."

Gabriel took one last appraising look at Gadreel before blasting the cell open. "Don't betray Castiel's trust, Gadreel." Gabriel growled the warning dangerously.

"I won't." Gadreel's loyalty burned in his eyes as he took Castiel's arm and slung it over his shoulder, helping the angel shuffle faster out of Heaven's prison. Demons swarmed the white hallways just as the last whispers of wingbeats faded away.

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 **A/N: Alright! First chapter completed!** **This fic will be longer than Sound the Bugle, I'm thinking at least 7 chapters, and I'll try to post 2 times a week, though it will be difficult. Regions in soccer just ended last week, and I thought I was going to have a _lot_ more time now. But, winning regions undefeated means going on to the semifinals (YES!) and I got put on the roster to play (SO EXCITED!). Anyway, long story short, two more weeks of soccer. It'll be hard to get the story out on time, but I will do my best!  
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 **Guys, Merianon made a great point on one of her fics, and I just want to paraphrase it. Even a simple review like "I love it" goes a long way to an author and it takes merely seconds. Any support you can show, even if it's a follow, favorite, or smiley face, would make me so happy and help get the chapters out even faster. So PLEASE review, favorite or follow if you enjoy this.**

 **Wish me luck!**


	2. Angel Blades

"Dean, next time I say we shouldn't waltz into the creepy building that has the word 'trap' painted over it in neon letters, how about we _not waltz right into the building that is clearly a trap!_ "

"Alright, Sam, I get it. It was a trap. God, you sound like that weird alien guy from Star Wars."

Sam pulled his attention away from the hellhounds that prowled around them -snarling noises and splashes in the water coating the ground their only clue that anything was even in front of them (there were four, they think)- to give Dean an incredulous bitch face that spoke words along the lines of 'we're about to die and you're making Star Wars references'.

"You know. 'It's a trap!" Dean did his best imitation before stumbling back with a yelp as a hellhound leapt at him and bounced off the goofer dust line they had drawn. The line grew thinner from the force of the blow and Sam and Dean exchanged nervous glances.

"Um, okay, enough joking now. Breaker breaker Gabriel, we need you to zap us out of here before we become puppy chow." Dean called up to the sky. When nothing happened, his mouth curved into a scowl and he cursed at the sky. "Come on asshole, we're gonna die here if you don't get your ass down here!" Still, Gabriel didn't show, and Dean turned his scowl on his brother.

"What are you looking at me for?"

"Don't give me that! He listens to you. Just call him down already, will you!"

"Dean, I'm not a magnet! I can't summon him out of thin air!"

"Hurry up and do it already Sam!" Dean cried out to his brother as the line was broken and they were forced to back up step by step, Dean with an angel blade in his hand and Sam with Ruby's knife.

"Fine! Gabriel, please, we need help!"

Wings fluttered behind them, and then hands clapped on each of their shoulders, pulling the Winchesters into the now familiar gut-wrenching Angel Airlines. They touched down in the backyard of the decrepit house that, according to Sam, had the word 'trap' painted over it in neon letters. The grass was long enough to brush their shins in some patches and dead in others, and a broken down swing creaked ominously somewhere to their right. Dean found himself agreeing to Sam's assessment of 'creepy building'.

Dean let out a sigh of relief and took a deep breath of fresh air. "Damn, those mutts need serious mints." He muttered. He checked Sam over and spoke over his shoulder to their rescuer. "That was a bit close, Gabe. We seriously need to have a talk on your timing."

"Gabriel is indisposed at the moment. He'll have to take a raincheck on that talk." The voice that answered was _far_ from Gabriel's regular cadence. It was gravelly and deep and sounded just like...

Dean and Sam spun on their heels at the same time and nearly crashed into the angel standing mere inches behind them, true to his reluctance to understand personal space. Dean backpedaled and looked the angel up and down several times, trying to convince himself he wasn't hallucinating. "Cas?!" If Dean's voice was a bit higher pitched than usual, none of them said anything about it. The trenchcoated angel's lips curved up in an amused smile and his eyes glittered mischievously.

"Hello Dean."

Sam lunged forward and wrapped the angel in his long limbs, looking for all intents and purposes like he was trying to squeeze the life out of the angel.

Cas was awkwardly still as he spoke his greeting. "Hello Sam." The angel made eye contact with Dean over Sam's bent shoulder and smiled slightly. Dean's sight blurred slightly as he returned the smile.

Sam stiffened suddenly and Dean could imagine his eyes go wide with realization right before he full on leapt back as far as he could from the angel, already apologizing before he had even landed. "Oh God, Cas! Shit, sorry man, I didn't think- Jesus, are you okay? I just completely forgot about the no touching thing and-"

"Sam. It's alright." Castiel placated the flustered Winchester with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine. His lips curled up again and he chuckled slightly. "I was beginning to miss the constant stream of blasphemy from you two."

Stunned silence. And then Sam was practically jumping on Cas again, with a hug even fiercer than the first one. Hesitantly, the angel's arms came up to wrap around Dean's giant moose of a brother and was soon squeezing with the same desperate need for human contact as Sam.

They broke away and exchanged glances, and then Cas turned to Dean.

"So, you're good?" Dean asked. There was nothing else to say. Cas already knew all that Dean could say; he didn't have to do anything to make the angel understand the thoughts running through his head right now. He didn't have to tell Cas that he was still pissed, but glad he was back. Castiel was always able to read Dean like an open book.

Cas smirked knowingly. Yeah, he got it. "Yes. I'm... good. I believe the term is... 'back in black'." After a cursory glance at his outfit, he corrected himself. "Or tan, in this case."

Dean snorted and opened his mouth to throw a quip right back at the angel when a howl shattered the peaceful air like glass. Crashing was heard from inside -a lamp was knocked out of view- and then the door slammed off its hinges and the grass crumpled under the giant pawprints of several hellhounds, singing the grass as they prowled through the dead weeds towards the trio.

"Cas, we gotta go." Sam said, turning to the angel and bracing himself for the drop in his stomach that resulted from Angel Airlines. Dean spun on his heels to face the hounds, but glanced expectantly over his shoulder for the angel to do his mojo.

Completely unperturbed by the approaching threat, Castiel calmly allowed an angel blade to fall into his hand. He fixed his sleeve carefully before turning piercing cerulean blue eyes on the abominations only he could see.

"We're going to fight?"

"They have all three of our scents now. No matter where we hide, they will always be only a few steps behind us. It will be best to take care of the problem now."

"Cas, there's at least four hellhounds there. We're outnumbered, and angels can't just smite the mutts with a click of their fingers. We should find Gabriel and get backup."

The angel stepped in front of the Winchesters without taking his eyes off the enemy, dangerous stare flickering from beast to beast as they sensed the presence of an angel and waited just beyond range of attack. "As I mentioned before, Gabriel is busy. Sparing soldiers for this issue will weaken the front line. I will handle this."

"But Cas-"

The angel looked back at Dean with a sly smirk. "Have faith, Dean." And then he flew into action.

The blade in his hand lashed out at thin air, droplets of blackened blood flying off the blade as it sliced through tough hellhound hide. The beast didn't yelp, but howled instead with a deep guttural growl that set the Winchesters' hair on end. Cas took two small steps forward, balancing his weight perfectly as he spun, the edges of the trenchcoat whipping around him dramatically.

Two years in a prison cell and Cas still fought like a badass. Good to know.

Blood went flying again as Cas's blade cut deep into the enemy only he could see.

"Uh, Dean..." Sam alerted Dean to the flattened grass just in front of them, and the air that distorted around the hound, rising up to somewhere around Dean's chest. Dean hefted his angel blade and risked a glance at Cas just in time to see the angel pivot to barely avoid the gnashing teeth that tore shreds down the trenchcoat. He retaliated quickly with a quick jab. There was a low whine, and the blade was torn out of Cas's hand as the beast fell to the ground.

Dean's attention was pulled back to his own battle as Sam lashed out carefully with the angel blade and drove the mutt back several feet. It was prowling, the stench of its sulfur breath threatening to suffocate Dean even from this distance.

God, he hated hellhounds.

After a brief moment of eye contact, where the plan was exchanged without meaningless words taking up time, Dean dove diagonally in front of Sam and drew the dog's attention to him. Without any preamble, not even wasting time to snarl, the dog leapt at Dean with the force of a car.

Dean didn't fear for his life, even for a second, not even when he made eye contact with the dreadful flaming eye-sockets that reminded Dean of all his highlights in Hell. The eye sockets that Dean supposedly wasn't supposed to be able to see. It was probably a testament to how shitty his life was that he wasn't even concerned he could see the hellhound when the beast was only visible to those dead or nearly dead. This wasn't the first time life had given up on him too quickly.

The next moment, his faith in Sam was affirmed as the larger Winchester shot forward to slam into the Hellhound's side, the knife going deep into its skin. It seemed to be a mortal wound, because the knife stayed where it was in the beast's side and nothing threatened to attack them immediately.

Dean located Cas and was instantly awestruck as the angel slashed his blade through a hound then sent the silver streaking through the air to lodge into a different dog. Without even pausing, he pulled two more blades from the inside of his coat and jammed them both into the last dog.

And then the battle was over. The angel took a deep, unnecessary, but calming breath and then turned to face the awestruck Winchesters.

"How many of those things did you have?" Dean gestured to the silver blades that were embedded in the air. He counted four of them right off the bat. "Four?"

"Six." Cas answered blandly, already moving to collect the blades and completely unaware of Dean's surprise. Dean whistled. It seemed like every day he was learning something new about the Angel of the Lord Castiel. For example, he was a friggin' badass with those angel swords.

"Not that I mind, but why do you have so many? Why didn't you just smite the hounds once they were in range?" Sam asked, awe still coloring his voice.

Cas looked up abruptly at the Winchester. His mouth opened briefly before his lips pursed closed. He gathered the last blade and wiped it free of blood before turning fully to the brothers. "We need to talk. And you won't like what I have to say."

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 **A/N: Hey guys, sorry for not posting sooner. Things got hectic at school with end of term coming up, and the finals for soccer are this Friday (semifinals tomorrow, yay!). But, I'm mostly planning on doing a chapter at least once a week, so here you go. I'm pretty sure this is lower quality, but I just needed to get it out there so I could move the plot along. Sorry.**

 **Also, Carvcr Edlund has a fic called Changing the Tune that contains Godstiel and sassy archangels. I highly recommend it to pass the time, and I have also promised to post a few one shots to get the chapters out quicker.**

 **Thanks to bookwriter123456, Redzac(guest), and Guest for the reviews. They seriously go a really long way in keeping me motivated in this busy time. Guys, if you enjoyed this, please review, follow or favorite. It means a lot!**


	3. Milk Run

Gabriel, messenger of God, archangel of the Lord was sleeping in his own drool. It was hardly an impressive sight, but the Archangel was obviously too asleep to give a shit. Balthazar didn't mind either; he knew his brother well enough to know better than expect a regal and terrifying visage from Gabriel even on his best day. And with how damn tired the last Archangel looked, Balthazar couldn't even bring himself to give him a hard time about it. But that sympathy didn't extend far enough to stop Balthazar from snapping a picture to blackmail Gabriel with later when he wasn't dead tired.

After sliding the phone back into his jacket pocket, Balthazar cleared his throat loudly. Gabriel lifted his head with a start and looked around the room blearily, wiping his mouth as he tried to figure out where he was and who to smite for disturbing the blissful and slightly pornographic dream he had been enthralled in. He locked on Balthazar who was thoughtfully looking around the room and allowing him to clean himself up before getting slammed with whatever he was here to talk to him about.

Gabriel rubbed his tired eyes and scrubbed through his dirty hair, feeling his joints creak from his latest encounter with Abbabitch. An angel wasn't even supposed to get dirty hair or human pains. That was just how screwed up he felt at the moment. He allowed himself a yawn before turning to his patiently waiting friend.

Balthazar understood that Gabriel was about at ready as he could be at the moment and turned away from the books he had been looking at. "You look tired, brother." He noted sympathetically.

"Shut up. I look amazing." Gabriel replied with sleep weighing down his words. He allowed his head to fall back onto his desk with his crossed arms acting as a cushion and light shield.

Balthazar snorted. Gabriel looked as messed up as his office at present. By messy, Balthazar meant full atomic bomb, papers covering the floor, armor scattered over the desk and floor, feathers floating in stagnant and dusty air, type of messy. The older brother had dark bags under his tired golden eyes and some crazy awesome hair that had been mussed several times over by his stressed hands.

Balthazar bit down on any concern that he knew Gabriel would brush off like a giant joke and took another cursory glance around the room before realizing that the archangel was strangely alone. You would think he would've noticed that sooner. Maybe he needed a nap too. "Where's Castiel?" He asked and was proud that only the smallest bit of worry laced his voice. He had faith in his brother's abilities to go on whatever milk run Gabriel had sent him on without blowing up. Mostly.

The archangel had been using the poor angel as both his secretary and war advisor. He could handle going to get the French coffee that Gabriel was so enthralled with.

"I sent him on a milk run."

Balthazar snorted at the obvious reply and drifted over to the desk the archangel rested his heavy on. Sifting through the papers disinterestedly, Castiel's smooth and tiny handwriting, which Balthazar knew quite well from hundreds of years of serving under him, stood out on several of the papers. He pulled them out and gave them a cursory glance before glancing up with surprise and pride to confirm what he saw with Gabriel.

The archangel was watching him with tired eyes. "A genius by any other name." Gabriel acknowledged tiredly. "We're lucky he's here. I just wish that he could be my actual lieutenant. I wish he could be out in the field with me to help me command, because I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. I need a right-hand man, and I can't trust anyone as much as I do him." Gabriel sounded wistful as he almost glared at the genius war plans Castiel had drawn up.

"Of course, I trust you just as much, but you aren't exactly the Einstein of strategy that Cassy is. And you've already expressed your feelings on the second in command position." Anger and blame tinged his voice as he eyed the other angel. Balthazar tried not to let it show how much the words hurt.

"I can't. I'm not a commander. My stint as Cassy's second three years ago made that pretty damn clear." The hurt wasn't completely dispelled from his words. He just wasn't meant to lead. It was that simple. He didn't command respect, and he didn't care to deal with problems when they arose. Even Hester was a better second for Gabriel even though there was almost no camaraderie between the two.

Gabriel's expression softened. "I know. I'm sorry. Just tired, I guess." Tired because he had no one to turn to for help. After his long, long absence, he knew no one anymore. Anyone that he may have been close to back then, anyone that he once relied on, either hated him or was dead. The apocalypse and Cassy's stint as God didn't help on that front. Balthazar, while a great brother and friend, was not a commander anyone would follow. Gadreel was also an amazing choice, having proven his fierce loyalty and strength, except he may have also let Lucifer into the Garden of Eden, which was a big no no for the lesser angels. And Castiel... well, Castiel was out of the question.

Balthazar shrugged the apology away and diverted his attention to looking humorously around the room. "Speaking of Cassy. The little angel that could is taking a long time to get coffee. Think he got lost?"

"Well, it wasn't quite a coffee run." Gabriel mumbled into his hands.

He felt the suspicious glare Balthazar sent him.

Gabriel was saved from having to explain by a knock at the door signaling Castiel's entrance into the room, cradling three takeout cups of coffee from that French place Gabriel so adored. He handed the Earl Grey to Balthazar, the large chocolate espresso to Gabriel and took the last cup for himself. Balthazar took a sip of the Earl Grey gratefully but also tinged with annoyance that it wasn't whiskey or vodka.

It took the British angel several minutes to realized that his little brother was practically covered in blood.

He almost spit the burning tea back into the drink but managed to swallow it all down like lava. He choked for several seconds, Gabriel thumping his back not very helpfully, before he was able to cough out, "Cas, what the hell?"

"Is the drink not to your liking?" Castiel asked innocently even though his expression clearly said that he knew exactly what Balthazar's problem was.

"Why the hell are you covered in Hellhound blood? Were they trying to butt in line at the coffee shop?"

"Now that would be a sight I would pay to see. Cassy and a couple of Hellhounds fighting over who ordered the espresso." Gabriel chuckled.

"Where did you send him?" Balthazar gestured to his little brother as he glared at his older accusingly.

"The Winchesters required assistance when they were attacked by several Hellhounds. Gabriel was hardly fit enough to attempt one of his usual daring rescues filled with confetti and sparkles, so he asked me to deal with the problem." Castiel replied calmly while Gabriel blinked at him sleepily as the espresso tried to do it's job.

"The Winchesters!? Shit Cassy, I thought we agreed you were gonna steer clear of them for now. You just barely started joining me on my recon missions a few weeks ago. Who knows how Godstiel would react to seeing them in a dangerous setting? You could've completely lost it or gotten injured and then lost it or seen them get injured and lost it or gotten killed because you were too busy trying not to lose it. Isn't that why you said you wanted nothing to do with them only yesterday?"

"Those are all valid points, Balthazar. I could easily have lost it and I would honestly rather have left it to someone else. But our forces are stretched thin at present and everyone is exhausted. No one else could be called to deal with the problem."

"Call _me_ for God's sake. I could've handled it!"

"You look like you're going to keel over any second now." Gabriel noted, looking for all the world like he was sleep talking.

"Oh, well that's the pot calling the kettle black." Balthazar retorted.

Castiel's brows furrowed as he tried to deduce the meaning behind the saying before shrugging it off to return to the conversation at hand. "That's exactly my point. You're obviously tired."

"So what?! You could've gotten hurt Cassy."

Castiel sighed loudly and exchanged a glance with Gabriel, his expression looking worried when he made eye contact with Balthazar again. "Balthazar... there's something I have to tell you." He said with reluctance.

Balthazar stiffened as the worst scenarios raced through his head. Did Godstiel make a comeback? Were the Leviathan causing problems? Did one of the Winchesters die? Did Castiel poison his tea?

"You've developed mother hen syndrome." His serious demeanor cracked at the end as he couldn't keep the laughter out of his eyes or his mouth from twitching up slightly. Gabriel burst out into raucous laughter that startled Balthazar out of the confused paralysis he had somehow slid into. The middle angel glanced between the two grinning angels, one guffawing at the top of his lungs and the other chuckling quietly, in confusion. It took him several seconds to realize exactly what Castiel had said. When he did, shocked turned into pleasantly pissed and he tackled his little brother with a growl. The two of them slid over the desk, knocked over Gabriel's coffee and crashed into Gabriel's lap, sending them all into a sprawling heap on the floor with a collective "oof!"

Castiel, laughing heartily now, struggled out of Balthazar's grip and rolled off of Gabriel and onto his feet. "You asshole! I thought something was actually wrong! Come here so I can punch you in the face, cretin!" Balthazar called after Castiel as he struggled to his feet in faux anger. Slipping on one of the many papers, he managed to lurch after the younger angel as he danced around the table.

"That's not very motherhenly of you Balthy!" Gabriel called after the angel with a groan as he tried to get up before deciding it was too much work and watching their destruction of his already destroyed office from his position on the floor. He smiled cheesily as he watched the moment fondly. Neither Cas nor Balthazar smiled enough, and he knew for a fact that he had waaaaay too many stress lines recently to live up to his name as the Trickster.

"Shut up! You're next." Balthazar called out to him as he vaulted over the table and crashed headlong into Cas sending them both to the floor again.

His elbow knocked hard into Cas's cheek as they went down and the angel grunted under the force of the blow, the laughter knocked out of him in an instant. Balthazar scrambled off of him in terrified concern that had replaced joking fun in a heartbeat.

"Castiel?" Balthazar called out reaching out to his brother gingerly, but not touching him.

Cas's eyes were screwed shut and his skin unnaturally pale around the dark bruising already forming on his cheekbone. Balthazar resisted the urge to heal it instantly. The room was silent except for Cas's pained, quick breaths and a low moan that slipped through his gritted teeth. No one dared move as Castiel fought against the internal enemy that had gained a small stepping stone in the minuscule pain he felt.

It only lasted moments, but it felt like an eternity as Castiel relaxed from his strained expression and allowed himself to sink into the hard floor as if it was a memory foam mattress. They all let out a collective sigh of relief and Balthazar helped the now exhausted angel to his feet. "I'm sorry, Castiel. That shouldn't have happened." He apologized with shame coloring his cheeks. He should have known better. After all, he was the one who had helped train Castiel to control it. His control over the Leviathan and other Purgatory souls balanced on the edge of a knife. He had a much better reign over it recently, which had allowed him to fall into a false sense of safety and comfort.

"But I controlled it, brother. I controlled it without the cuffs, or Gabriel. I beat them on my own." Castiel's eyes, while tired and a bit droopy, were bright with excitement at his accomplishment.

Balthazar chuckled and mussed Castiel's hair fondly. "Yeah. You did."

"Mother henning at its finest right there." Gabriel interrupted, sitting on the edge of the desk and tilting dangerously from exhaustion as his body threatened to just deposit him on the floor for a quick nap.

"Go to sleep Gabriel." Balthazar snarked at him. "Before you keel over from sleep deprivation."

"Angels can't die from sleep deprivation. They generally don't need sleep. It's only when their powers have been used almost constantly. Even then, they can operate without it." Castiel explained in a tired voice even as he nodded off on Balthazar's shoulder.

"That's a great idea Balthy. Let's all have a nap. Come here." With the last of Gabriel's waning energy, he snapped up a deluxe fort complete with pillows and blankets. Balthazar's last reluctance was stolen away by Gabriel's next words. "You can't help Cassy if you're too exhausted."

Balthazar nodded and pulled Castiel with him as all three of them collapsed on the ground in a satisfying heap.

"What did you need to talk to me about?" Gabriel whispered, referring to the reason that Balthazar came to his office in the first place.

"It can wait."

* * *

 **A/N: My only excuse is that there's no wi-fi in Hell.**

 **Kidding. My week hasn't been that bad, I just haven't had the muse to throw this all together until today. But hey, my longest chapter of this story, so yay. It's kinda fluffy and pointless, but it _is_ important that you guys realize just how draining this is for everyone. Even though you don't know exactly what _this_ is yet, it's a major threat that has driven all the angels to exhaustion, Gabriel most of all. He really needs to have someone by his side to help him command, but there's no one there for him. I'll explain exactly what the situation is next chapter, don't worry.**

 **I'm not sure how I feel about the end of this chapter, so please give me your feedback on it. It might have been too fluffy and childish.**

 **Please review and if you liked it, favorite. It means the world to me.**

 **My story recommendation for this week is Colleen's "It's All in the Details". It's not finished, but I'm hoping desperately that if it gets enough prodding, it will be some day.**

 **Anyway, toodle-doo!**


	4. Moral High Ground

Dean scowled past the rain-spattered windshield into the dark tempest that encircled the Impala as they drove down the dark and slippery highway. The sleet made it nearly impossible to see, but Dean was unwilling to relinquish the stability that driving his Baby provided for him. He had the foreboding feeling that shit was going to hit the fan on high speed; a feeling that was not helped in any way by Cas's words regarding the topic.

The aforementioned angel was relaxing (Cas's version of relaxing anyway) in the back seat of the car. After insisting that they have their conversation behind the warded doors of the Impala, he was perfectly fine with simply sitting there silently with an expression resembling a dog that had just found a home that it could never have even hoped for in its wildest dreams. Dean was both prideful and pissed at the angel for that. After the rocky start Castiel and the Impala had, Dean had worried that they would never see eye to eye. Obviously, they were getting along just fine now, hence the pride. But Cas was scaring the crap out of him with his sudden appearance after two years that Dean was under the impression that Cas spent in a cage fighting his 'inner demons', or Purgatory monsters if you wanted to be literal. His content silence left ants crawling in some really unsavory places for Dean and he just wanted the angel to _get on with it_.

Finally, _finally,_ Sam broke the silence for Dean. "Cas, don't get me wrong, but how are you here? I mean, last time we talked, you seemed pretty sure you weren't getting out of that place."

Cas's eye snapped open from where they had drifted shut in pure bliss and locked on Sam before he leaned forward with a world-heavy sigh. "I wasn't lying when we last talked. I believed that it would take several years at the least to gain control over the Leviathan to a point I felt I would not be a danger to you or anyone around me. After you left, Balthazar worked with me to build up my walls and help me stop any influence from the souls from leaking through."

"So was your estimation just wrong? Are you good now?"

Dean huffed. "Pretty big overcompensation there. Did you skip a few grades there, Einstein?"

Cas glared with all the might of a warrior of God. Oh, it's been so long since Dean has been on the receiving end of one of those. He averted his eyes from the rear view mirror quickly. "No. I actually believe my calculations may have been overoptimistic. The degree of control I have now is not to the level I was hoping for when I would next see you." Cas explained.

Dean and Sam exchanged concerned glances with that revelation, but Cas forged ahead without noticing. His eyes were locked on the windshield and seeing something that no one else could. Dean guessed he might be checking on his walls even as they spoke and wondered what it looked like in there. The twisted entity he had seen last time- Dean shuddered to rid himself of that memory and focused on what Cas was saying.

"I had shown significant improvement when Gabriel showed up at my cell and informed me that Heaven was being attacked by Abbadon and that the prison would soon prove to be the newest battleground."

"Heaven's prison was attacked?" Sam parroted, flashing a stunned look at Dean.

Cas nodded gravely. "It was a sudden and unexpected move. Heaven was forced to retreat from the area before losses grew too high. Gabriel has since then managed to take back the prison, but several of the lesser inmates were freed by the time he got there."

As if to emphasize how big of a shitstorm they were in, the Impala skid on the the frozen sleet. Dean wrestled the car back on track and finally just pulled it off to the side of the road with several very colorful curses. He turned to fix Cas with a deadly stare.

"The asshat hasn't taken the time out of his day to explain this to us, so maybe you can do the honors now that you've flown the coop. Why the Hell aren't the angels crushing all the demons under their heels? You're ten times more powerful than all of them, Hell, you can smite them with just a touch. All of their big baddies are dead, but yet Heaven is still flailing around like a chicken with its head cut off. So what megaweapon do they have that we don't that's giving them a leg up on us?"

Cas's head tilted and he squinted at Dean, no doubt trying to translate the curious Dean speak he had just been blasted with.

Dean could see the moment when the question hit him. It looked like a slap to the face. His eyes dropped and he allowed himself to sink even lower into the seat while somehow managing to stiffen up even more. He looked devastated. Dean glanced over at Sam for an explanation, who just shrugged and mirrored his concern back at him.

"Dean, Sam, you two need to understand something. When I was... bad... I made a lot of bad decisions. I was power mad, and obsessed, and insane, and I couldn't tell right from wrong."

"Cas, we get it, the monsters were messing with your brain. There was nothing you could do." Dean interjected quickly, touching him lightly on the shoulder as some form of comfort. He didn't want to even think about the shit that went on two years ago. Gabriel had told them that it was because of the monsters' influence, and Dean was inclined to believe him because he didn't want to think about any alternatives.

"No! Dean! It wasn't!" Cas was gripping the seat on either side of him with white-knuckled intensity, his piercing gaze focused on the rain shattering over the Impala's windshield. " _I_ did all of those things. _I_ conspired with Crowley, _I_ took in all the Purgatory souls, _I killed my brothers and sisters._ That was me. Not the monsters. You convinced me that I was more than a hammer, that I could make my own decisions. If I don't take responsibility for my own actions, then what the Hell does that really mean, Dean?"

Dean flinched away from the angel, withdrawing his hand as if he'd been bitten. His own hands clenched at his sides, out of sight from Sam or Cas and he grit his teeth as a memory rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind.

 _"You think my power has made me insane? That the old Castiel is just hiding beneath all these souls?" A dry chuckle that echoed in the cell. "Is that what Gabriel told you?"_

 _"Gabriel and Balthazar are obsessed with the notion that the souls have tainted me. They are continuously trying to fix me. But the souls have merely opened my eyes to the injustices of this world. I'm not tainted, I'm enlightened."_

Sam got it before Dean did. "You don't agree with Gabriel. You don't think that the souls were messing with your mind."

The angel shook his head slowly, allowing his head to hang low. "Lucifer was once a beautiful angel. He was once a kind and loving brother, who God and all the angels loved. But then he started to doubt, and express free will, and fell. And he is now the Devil that started the apocalypse. He's the epitome of pure evil. That change couldn't have happened unless there was something dark and twisted already inside of him. Malevolence doesn't appear, it only grows. If the Morningstar, the brightest light, God's favorite, had something so dark and disgusting in him from the start, something that caused him to do all of those horrible things, then it only stands to reason that I had that same darkness in me.

"I'm just like Lucifer. I was good. I was respected. But then I doubted, and fell. I can't blame the monsters inside of me for a darkness I already had. I allowed it to grow when I was cut off from the light of Heaven, and it only grew worse. It's not the monsters. It's just another side of me. It terrifies me that I could do such bad, that a part of me is capable of that. But I know that it was me, not the monsters inside of me. Because Lucifer didn't need the souls to turn coldhearted and wicked. And Lucifer _was_ better than me."

"You compare yourself to Lucifer?" Sam looked horrified at the revelation. Cas's small nod only deepened the expression, laced with an insider understanding that Dean couldn't comprehend.

"What the Hell makes you think you're anything like Lucifer?" Dean spat out, annoyed about the melancholy that had settled over his little brother and the angel. He wasn't sure who he was directing his question to, because Sam seemed to understand Cas's comparison a bit too well for his liking.

Cas finally looked up and met his eyes. They sat still for a moment, Cas trying to gauge how Dean would react to his words, Dean antsy as Hell from the piercing gaze he had forgotten about, and Sam watching Cas sympathetically. Finally, Cas answered, quietly but resolutely.

"You did."

Shit.

He did say that, didn't he? He said it to Cas's face at least once, and repeated it in his desperate and angry prayers more times than he could count.

 _You're the new Lucifer. No, you're_ worse _than Lucifer._

"And Gabriel. Anyway, that's beside the point. My point is that the souls are no scapegoat. What I did is on me. My own choices, my own consequences. That's why this entire war is my fault."

Dean, too frozen to speak, allowed Sam to continue the questioning for him. "How can the war be entirely your fault? Abbadon was getting powerhungry and declared war; how did you have any influence on it? You were already locked up by then."

"True, but Dean was right. The angels are generally _much_ more powerful than the demons. There was an equilibrium between Heaven's might and Hell's numbers. Abbadon and I destroyed that equilibrium."

"How?" Dean asked with a scratchy voice. He cleared his throat self-consciously before fixing Cas with his own strong gaze.

"Three years ago... I cause a lot of suffering, on Earth, but I _devastated_ Heaven. I vaporized thousands of my own kind; all of Raphael's supporters, the stronger opposition that _might_ have caused trouble. The Apocalypse, the civil war, the massacre- there's barely any angels left. And I was directly related to all three. And now that Abbadon has-" The angel's mouth snapped shut with enough force to audibly crack and Sam flinched for Jimmy's poor mouth. Dean, however, was too concentrated on Cas's obvious attempt to keep information from them. With the memories of the past already dredged up, he was in a pretty crappy mood.

"Oh, don't start with the secrets _again_! You don't get to keep those from us. Is that clear?"

"I'm not your slave, Dean." Cas said quietly. "Please don't order me around like one." He slid towards the Impala's door, learning how to use a door just in time for a dramatic exit with the parting information that there would be a strategy meeting tomorrow and that Gabriel wanted them to attend. He would come around some time in the afternoon. And then the angel slipped out.

Sam gave Dean one of his special bitchfaces.

"What?" Dean's voice cracked in his defense and completely ruined any chances he had to make it convincing.

"You know, you may be the only one of the three of us to not completely screw up the world, but you really abuse that moral high ground sometimes." Sam followed Cas out of the car before Dean could even comprehend a retort.

The angel was still there, just standing in the cool, frigid rain and looking up at the sky with apprehension. "Hey, Cas." Sam called after the angel, coming to stand next to him.

"Hello Sam."

"You know, that stuff with the angel blades really was cool." Cas snorted. "Cas... man, about the Lucifer thing..."

"I don't need you to attempt to-"

"I get it man. I get it. I mean, I'm kinda the leading expert on being compared to Lucifer."

Cas huffed a laugh. "I suppose you are."

Sam also grinned. "Just remember that _you aren't him_."

Cas gave Sam a long appraising look before giving him a slight nod of affirmation. "Thank you Sam." He stared at the sky for a few beats more before saying, "Gabriel is probably having a meltdown without his caffeine," and disappearing.

"I guess that was sort of a goodbye." Sam mentioned to the still air, the rain having faded away like the sullen mood.

* * *

 **A/N: Just cranked this out here, so some grammar might be a bit off. Tell me if you see any serious problems.**

 **One question: can I keep a T rating if I use the F word or does it have to be M?**

 **Story Recommendation: Rip Out The Ending (And Write a New One) by A. Zap. This author has some other awesome stories that I highly recommend you check out.**

 **Also, congrats to Carvcr Edlund for finishing Changing the Tune. There's some great stuff in there, so go check it out.**


	5. He'll Smite You If It Stains

Sharp claws with indefinite shape sliced through the air mere inches in front Castiel's head. He took several stumbling steps back before planting his foot deep into the charred ground. With a grunt, he shoved his grace forward with a practiced action. The shadowed figures were pushed back several steps, but Castiel felt almost crushing despair at how little effect it had as they surged forward again. It gave him enough space to look over the large domineering wall in front of him and evaluate the damage that had allowed the monsters to surge through.

Several colorful curses, not all of them in English, sprung to mind at the gaping hole that continued to crumble away from intense outside pressure. As the monsters once again drew near, Castiel felt his already painful headache grow into a full migraine.

* * *

Gadreel hovered awkwardly next to Castiel; reluctant to take his eyes off of his friend for even a second despite his own slightly pressing injuries. The younger angel was sitting ramrod straight in the plush chair that bordered Gabriel's office. His eyes stared emptily into the distance without blinking, the bright azure dulled to a drab gray. Tension tightened his shoulders and the angel's knuckles were so white it seemed he would break his own fingers.

Even as Gadreel watched, Castiel flinched, his eyes crinkling in pain and cheek twitching as if it had just been sliced open. Gadreel stiffened up further in response.

The old guardian jumped several feet into the air at the new presence that plopped down wearily directly across from Castiel. Balthazar threw his feet up to rest beside Castiel's leg. The action seemed nonchalant, but he was careful to avoid even _brushing_ the other angel and his alert gaze never left the other angel. His intent concentration on Castiel didn't stop Balthazar from chuckling at Gadreel's expense.

"I see you were the stunning inspiration of the creation of the grasshopper." He joked.

Gadreel, not having knowledge on the exact specifications of what a "grasshopper" was, stayed silent and continued to watch Castiel thoughtfully.

Balthazar let out a puff of exasperation and allowed his head to tilt back in a low moan of exasperation. "Brother, allow me to be the first to tell you you have absolutely no wit. No fun at all, really."

Gadreel's eyes flitted to the ground. "Apologies," he muttered quietly. He still wasn't quite at ease performing small talk with _any_ of the angels other than Castiel. Balthazar was probably the one that he understood the least, though it could never be said he was unfriendly to Gadreel. Just... perplexingly sarcastic.

The reply only elicited another heartfelt moan from the other.

"I just... I suppose my thoughts are preoccupied at present." Gadreel gave a halfhearted explanation as he fixed his attention on Castiel again.

Balthazar's head lolled around so he could give Cas a once over before turning his full attention to the older warrior. "He's fine, you know. It's just a routine check to make sure everything's in working order. Reinforce all the walls and repair all the cracks and all that jazz."

"I'm aware. Though Castiel _did_ mention that the wall had broken slightly."

Balthazar pursed his lips but otherwise looked unruffled. "He can handle it." The British angel muttered.

Gadreel nodded in hesitant agreement and turned his gaze on his other younger brother. "You look tired, brother." He commented quietly.

The other scoffed. "Me? I'm not the one leaking Grace all over Gabriel's favorite chair. You should go get that healed. He'll smite you if it stains."

"My injuries are not severe enough to waste a medic's time. They are busy. They don't have time for small scratches." Gadreel frowned in contemplation before adding, "And I'm sure Grace does not have the ability to stain furniture."

"Gadreel, as one of our strongest warriors-"

"I assure you I am healing, brother. I will be ready to return to battle after our strategy meeting."

"You've been at the front lines for three weeks without a break. You'd probably still be there if Gabriel hadn't threatened your ass back here."

"It is where I'm needed." Gadreel answered easily. He didn't think much of his words until Balthazar looked to the sky with weighted exasperation and muttered, "Father help me."

The British angel started talking before Gadreel had a chance to question the odd phrase, considering that Balthazar was one of the many angels that believed God had stopped caring long ago. "Why is it that the angels we need the most are always the ones that are first in run in front of the goddamn bus? It's like I'm the only one here with any sense left in their brain. Castiel, Gabriel and now you too. Damn idiots." Balthazar collapsed back into his chair and fixed his gaze moodily on the wall beside Castiel's head.

There was a pregnant silence as Gadreel got over his surprise at Balthazar's outburst. He broke it with halting words, still trying to suss out what Balthazar was talking about. "We're idiots because..."

"Because all three of you are trying to work yourselves into the ground." Balthazar snapped, leaning forward angrily again. "Gabriel is gorging on solely sugar and caffeine to avoid sleep like it's the damn plague- angels shouldn't even need to eat and sleep! Your arm was almost completely sliced off only hours ago and yet you refuse to even allow a medic to look at it! And don't even get me started on Cassy. During the civil war, that idiot didn't even hesitate to jump into the middle of _every single problem_ as if it was an oasis in the Sahara desert. I'm spending more time making sure you three don't work yourselves to death than actually fighting in the war. And that right there is a _severe_ warping of priorities."

Gadreel stared at the British angel with complete shock as the lecture came to a full stop. Balthazar refused to look at Gadreel, resolutely staring at a painting of Gabriel riding a dinosaur that Gadreel knew he absolutely abhorred.

The older angel cleared his throat loudly before calling the British angel to attention. "Gabriel was right." A pause where Balthazar showed pure confusion. "You _are_ a complete mother hen."

Gadreel believed that the phrase was 'If looks could kill...'

* * *

Cas turned on his heel, his arm sweeping beside him and decapitating the vampire soul. As the body faded into smoke, Castiel allowed himself to relax slightly and did a short sweep of the area. All of the attacking souls had been disabled into black smoke that Cas avoided breathing in. With a last push of grace, he forced the smoke back out of the wall where it would eventually reassemble back into the monsters.

That was the most disheartening part of this all. No matter how hard Cas fought, no matter how many souls he drove off, there was always an enemy battering at the wall. The monsters he killed just got back up to try to gain control. It was exhausting.

Ignoring the weight in his limbs and the aches from injuries that demanded to make themselves known, Castiel set to work repairing the wall. If there was one upside to this breech, it was that Castiel's experimental containment of the Leviathan was holding steady. None of the vicious monsters had been a part of the swarm, for which he was eternally grateful for. If they had, Castiel would have been too exhausted to complete his fortifications. Which meant that he would have had to wear the suppressing cuffs, just to be safe. Cas had a feeling that Sam and Dean wouldn't react well to him being handcuffed when they had their strategy meeting.

With a heavy drag in his step, Castiel continued to analyze the perimeter of the wall and add touches if need be.

He was so tired.

* * *

Castiel blinked several times before taking a deep gulp of air, as if he had not breathed air for several minutes. Gadreel knew he had, he had checked multiple times, but the other angel still panted breathlessly for several moments, his knuckles growing even whiter and his entire body vibrating from the strain. Gadreel rested his hand on Castiel's knee, just to assure his brother that he wasn't alone.

The younger angel looked up at Gadreel with tired but grateful eyes, still breathing heavily. Gadreel maintained eye contact with Castiel without speaking as the angel settled down. Only when Castiel collapsed into the chair did Gadreel talk. "Welcome back, brother."

"Thank you, Gadreel." His appreciation wasn't for the greeting.

With a nod, Gadreel removed his hand and settled back into his chair to wait until Castiel had recovered.

Several minutes later, Castiel stood on steady feet. Gadreel mimicked the action. "We should pick up the Winchesters before Dean resorts to prayers." Castiel suggested. Gadreel nodded slowly with an unsure squint. "Last time Dean prayed to Gabriel, a third of the army heard it, and they all collapsed into a laughing fit." Castiel explained. "It took several minutes for them to get under control enough for Gabriel to speak to them without cracking up."

Gadreel smiled at the image. "I actually think I would like to see that." He laughed. Castiel smiled as well. Gadreel clapped his hand on Castiel's arm, and then they vanished from the office with a gust of wind.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry Christmas. Here's your present. Have a very overdue chapter that has absolutely nothing to do with winter. Please tell me what you think, favorite if you like it, blah blah blah. Now, we're still a long way away from the end, but I can do it in two ways. Super fluffy, or everyone dies. Tell me which you want more in your comments.**

 **The story recommendation is SUPRNTRAL LVR's fic, Broken Wings. For those of you that have read these, you can probably tell I'm following a pattern.**

 **Also, for Walking Dead fans. Jeffrey Dean Morgan (AKA John Winchester) is pretty damn boss as Negan, don't you agree? I'm very happy with his performance. There's a Walking Dead fanfic called "When the Cat is Away" by BBC. It's finished, but I'm hoping if enough people annoy them, they'll finally make a sequel.**

 **Anyway, toodleoo**


	6. Eternal Patience Runs Thin

Wingbeats alerted Dean to the arrival of an angel. In his peripheral, he saw a flash of tan as the familiar cloak billowed briefly. The angel blade slid out of his grasp as easily as he had whiteknuckled it seconds earlier.

"Hey Cas," Dean called as he returned to tying his shoelaces. "Whatdoyasay we grab a extra large espresso from down the street before we head to this snorefest?"

"Hello Dean." As expected, Cas's reprimanding voice came out. Shit, Dean hadn't heard that one for ages. It's been since the apocalypse, and isn't that something that the apocalypse is something he looked on as good times.

"Or better yet," Dean interrupted, finishing his laces and bracing to stand, "how about we cut class you just bring me up to speed in a, uh, den of inequity." He snatched up his beer from the bedside and took a swig as he finally faced Cas.

The beer nearly went out his nose as he realized that the trenchcoated angel wasn't alone. A tall angel with a square jaw stood beside Cas, looking very uncomfortable at Dean's words. He stood behind Cas in a firm show of respect, which was also surprising because Dean wouldn't have thought _any_ of the angels other than Balthazar and Gabriel were in good kahoots with Cas.

"Dean, this is Gadreel. Gadreel, this is Dean Winchester." Cas introduced, unperturbed by Dean's words as opposed to Gadreel's utter confusion.

"Brother, forgive me, but... den of inequity?" Dean heard Gadreel mutter to Cas.

 _That_ got a reaction from Cas. A small blush crept its way up his neck and cheeks and his eye twitched. "It is nothing. Just forget you heard anything."

Dean barely restrained a loud laugh at Cas's reaction. But then his mind turned to more serious matters. "Gadreel, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?" Dean asked, his eye narrowing as he looked the other angel up and down with a more critical eye. He didn't look _too_ dangerous. But the hairs on the back other the hunters neck were raised in instinctive warning.

Gadreel seemed to almost sink into Cas's shadow at the question, pursing his lips and looking to Cas for... what? Rescue?

"Gadreel is a valiant warrior who has taken position as our front line specialist. I would not be surprised if Gabriel has mentioned him in passing." Cas answered cooly. If it wasn't for Gadreel's stunned expression, Dean might actually have believed the son of a bitch.

"Hey Dean. So I was just thinking-" The motel door swung open and a sweat covered Winchester in jogging clothes. He cut himself off as soon as he noticed the other occupants in the room; his welcoming smile for Cas dampened by his wariness of the unknown angel.

"Hello Sam." Cas greeted Sam with the same calmness as earlier. Dean noticed that Cas seemed to have a lot of that. Calmness. Restraint.

"Hey Cas." Sam returned, sliding to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water without taking his eyes off of Gadreel. "Care to introduce us?"

"This is Gadreel. Gadreel, this is Sam Winchester."

Sam visibly tensed at the introduction. He must have had better luck recognizing the familiar name than Dean did. Sam's gaze met with Dean's a second before he forced himself to relax and take several steps forward. "Oh yeah? It's nice to meet you." He extended a hand to Gadreel, who looked at Castiel for assurance before grasping Sam's hand and shaking it briefly. "Gadreel. As in the protector of the garden of Eden Gadreel?" Sam had guts to mention that when his hand was still at the mercy of Gadreel's angelic strength, Dean realized as he finally connected the dots behind the name Gadreel.

"Like the guy who let the snake into the garden in the bible?" Dean said incredulously, looking Gadreel up and down again and stepping behind Sam protectively as Gadreel recoiled from Sam as if he'd been burned.

"And was sentenced to remain in Heaven's prison for eternity as punishment." Sam completed, stepping back to stand with his brother.

Cas slid in front of the daggers being shot between the two parties with that same unruffled aura he'd been sporting since they'd reconnected. He turned his back on the Winchesters and laid a soothing hand on the other's shoulder. "Why don't you report in to Gabriel, Brother? We'll follow along shortly once Sam has cleaned up."

Gadreel nodded stiffly and vanished with a flap of wings.

Dean waited until Cas had turned towards them to confront him. "Cas, what the actual Hell?"

The angel rubbed his temple tiredly as if he had a massive headache. "What the actual Hell what, Dean?"

"I mean, what the actual Hell are you doing buddying up with the mall cop that ruined _everything_? Isn't that guy supposed to be rotting in Heaven's prison after what he did?"

Cas sat on the corner of the bed tiredly. "Gadreel is another unfortunate victim of Lucifer, Dean. Much like Sam and you." His voice was muffled as he kept rubbing his face with his hands as if he could scrub away the Winchesters' annoying questions. Well, nope, no dice there.

"That's not how Gabriel made it sound."

"And you trust his word more than mine." Cas stated bluntly, not needing to look at Dean for him to know the angel was slightly hurt by his lack of faith in him.

"Well to be honest Cas, you haven't really been all that great of a judge of character." It just slipped out without a thought. And any other time, Dean was sure that Cas would have brushed it off as he did to every other insulting comment Dean lobbed his way.

Horrible as it sounded, that was a requirement for people to get close to Dean. Dean trash talked everyone thoughtlessly at times, and the people close to him either needed to be able to ignore it or kick his ass six ways to Sunday if he went to far. It could maybe be called a defense mechanism. Driving off the softhearted so that they wouldn't hurt him by leaving at a whim.

Cas, exceptionally patient angel that he is, could handle Dean's bullshit for hours without ruffling a feather. But the few times he crossed a line, he made sure to let Dean know it. Case in point.

Impossibly blue eyes shot up and made contact with Dean's and Dean was struck with a need to just _take a step back_ because before him was a hurricane in a paper thin suit whose eternal patience had worn thin. Castiel stood and advanced upon the hunter until less than a foot of space separated them.

"You act as if you've never made a mistake. Dean Winchester, tell me, in my situation, with my only options being to roll over for Raphael or be blown to pieces opposing him, what would you have done?"

Of course Castiel skipped right past the surface issue to Dean's underlying problem. Of course he knew that what rankled Dean wasn't the presence of the Garden's guardian (whose sudden freedom was still unexplained by the way), it was the events of three years ago. He knew even before Dean did. But now that the issue had been brought to light, Dean found his deeply buried anger swelling to the surface.

"You should have come to _me_ for help! I was right there!"

"And if I had, what would you have done?"

Dean only answered with a glare. His problem wasn't that Cas made a demon deal so much as that he went behind their backs to do it. But really, Dean had no answer for the angel.

Finally, after a long moment of silence that grew louder than screaming ever could, Dean went in for the kill.

"Well look how well your decision worked out, Cas. Spot on work there, buddy. Really great. Now instead of half of the planet being fried in the apocalypse, both Heaven and Earth are getting pummeled by demons. At this rate, the entire human race will be tortured into black eyed freaks in a year, and your precious Heaven will be completely destroyed. So congratulations, _Cas,_ you did really good fending off teenage mutant ninja angel."

The angel looked as if Dean had stabbed him in the stomach with his own angel blade. The sheer anguish in Castiel's eyes made Dean feel a spark of guilt for his harsh words, despite that they all knew they were completely true. Dean could feel Sam's glare piercing his back from somewhere in the background, but he was numb to it in the face of Cas's pain.

The angel broke eye contact. His shoulders slumped in what looked horribly similar to defeat. In a small voice that Dean barely heard, "I'll do everything in my power to fix this." And then his hand touched Dean's shoulder, he reached out to grasp Sam, and the floor dropped out from under the Winchesters' feet.

* * *

 **A/N: I didn't even mean to have this chapter. I just wanted Gadreel and Cas to pick up the Winchesters, that's all. How did this turn into an angst fest so quickly? Just to be clear, Gabriel told Sam and Dean about Gadreel after Sound the Bugle when they asked more about Heaven's prison. So he no longer feels that way about Gadreel (mostly).  
**

 **So I'd like to thank Merianon for reviewing last chapter. Your words kept my muse going 'til I cranked out this chapter.**

 **Merianon has several amazing Supernatural stories. My favorite is Light of Dawn that features season 11 awesomeness. Check it out.**

 **The plan is to get the next chapter out by New Years. Yeah, rapid fire to make up for missing a month's worth of updating.**

 **Please tell me what you think about the story and the chapters. I realize it's moving slowly, but please bear with me. I live off of your reviews people.**

 **Happy Holidays.**


	7. Calm, Dignified Angel Meeting (Maybe)

"Gabriel, I have an issue I would like to raise before we start." A wrinkled hand rose into the air firmly, despite the vessel's atrophied muscles and bones so brittle it looked like they could shatter any second. Dean instantly disliked him. What kind of angel possessed a seventy-plus old man? The geezer had large smile lines all around his face, and he would have looked quite amiable if there wasn't an asshole angel possessing him and morphing the physical features into an eternal scowl. Did the vessel have kids and grandkids that were missing him? It seemed like he would.

Dean's scowl grew worse. His eyes flicked over to Castiel, who sat in between Gadreel and Sam near the head of the table. For the first time in a long while, Dean wondered about Jimmy and his family. Jimmy's soul was probably in Heaven, unless God had resurrected him along with Cas for some weird reason. It occurred to Dean that _all_ of the angels in the room had possessed some sorry bastard in order to meet like this. Was it for the Winchesters' convenience, or was there some benefit to having a vessel handy?

Balthazar's disparaging snort directly preceded Gabriel's reply, but the geezer angel still heard it and glared at the disrespectfully reclining (not that Dean was one to talk) angel that sat beside Dean's right elbow. If merely by proximity or if the geezer felt slighted by Dean as well, the human didn't know, but the geezer soon transferred his hateful glare to Dean. The hunter was immediately reminded of Raphael.

"By all means, Afriel." Gabriel sighed, not looking too pleased with the geezer's interruption either, but still gesturing for the other angel to proceed with his 'issue'.

"It has come to my attention, and the attention of several others, that our tactical meetings, which should remain _highly secret,_ have grown to encompass many participants, many of whom neither qualified or trustworthy enough to be here."

Aaaand _there_ it was. Dean was waiting for the first slight against the 'mudmonkey presence' to pop up, and he had a snarky reply ready and waiting.

Sam must have had the same idea, though, and somehow managed to beat Dean to the punch. "We are all aware that Abbadon is waging war against _humans_ as well as angels, Afriel." Oh, the lawyer voice was coming out. Dean loved that one. When it wasn't being used against him, anyway. Hopefully it would knock these dicks with wings down a peg better than Dean's own masterful reply. "It is only proper that there is human representation in these strategy meetings, considering how our two species are allied against the demons. And, because Dean and I have had dealings with Gabriel, and angels, more than most hunters, it is only fitting that we arrive as those representatives." The calm manner in which Sam delivered the politest 'fuck you' in history made Dean want to keel over laughing. And the geezer's face really wasn't helping matters as Gabriel chimed in.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. These humans may be idiots, but we're too busy to fight their battles for them, and they can still prove an asset, Afriel." Gabriel replied energetically, winking at Sam in the most obvious way possible.

Dean redirected his glare to Gabriel at the tossed in slight against the Winchesters. Masterfully, Gabriel ignored him. "If that's all, should we proceed-"

"While the humans were a _part_ of the issue," Afriel interrupted in a clear sign of disrespect to his commanding archangel, "I was also referring to certain others in this room as well."

He redirected his gaze to the two angels on Sam's left in an accusing stare. Castiel returned the malevolent glare with the pure epitome of solder calm that popped up whenever he had something to say but was biting his tongue. Dean knew it well from when he was still trying to save seals and doubting his superiors. The angel was surprisingly sardonic towards idiotic superiors for a supposedly well-behaved angel soldier.

Gadreel had a very similar expression, but his seemed to lean towards 'what are you smoking' and less of the 'you are a complete idiot' glare that Cas was sporting.

Dean was concerned about how capable he was proving to be at reading the nuances behind the soldier facade bred in every angel.

Afriel raked from Gadreel and Cas and down the entire row of seating on their side of the table, ending with a sneering Balthazar.

A dangerous look was brewing in Gabriel's eyes. "I know we're all reluctant to name names," the archangel said with a false joviality that made Dean cringe, "but I'm afraid that the validity of your issues are not conveyable by death glares, even the one of Spock-like proportions that you're sporting."

"Gabriel, sir, I would be happy to explain my reasoning, if I may." Geezer didn't wait for permission, standing on twig legs to direct his address to the five other angel commanders in the room as well. "In the millennia that Michael commanded our forces, he did so with a small cabin of seven trusted angels. This was to allow for unity between the commanders as well as preventing any sensitive information leaking out to our enemies. The commanders were only the strongest, fittest angels; the angels trusted by God himself to protect the others under their command. The four archangels, of course," he inclined his head to Gabriel in acknowledgement, "myself, Raguel, and Sariel. However, despite the effectiveness of this method of council, we have allowed several more into our midst. There are twelve here, not all of whom has proven integrity on and off the battlefield. This is a danger to the security of these meetings, and the war.

"Specifically, I am referring to Balthazar, Castiel and Gadreel, as I'm sure you know." Afriel took a breath to give Gabriel a _very_ disapproving gaze which the archangel did _not_ take very well. The Trickster's already pursed lips grew white as his expression grew even tighter. Dean wanted the archangel to tell the Geezer off for his insolence like he always did to the Winchesters, but he got the feeling that it would be a bad political move. Otherwise, Gabriel would have already done it with gusto.

"Gadreel proved millennia ago that he could not be trusted with sensitive issues or expected to have an overwhelming sense of loyalty to the angels. His imprisonment could only have led to hard feelings and made him even less trustworthy. Yet you freed him, practically put him in command of the battlefield, and allow him to wander unsupervised so that he is able to contact the enemy and report our plans to them as their spy at any point."

Gadreel shot to his feet with flaming eyes and his chair nearly tipped onto its back. It was only by Castiel's quick reflexes that allowed him to catch it before it could add a loud clatter.

"I am loyal to the cause, Afriel. Brother Gabriel has given me a chance for redemption; a chance I do not intend to squander." Gadreel snapped.

Afriel opened his rather detestable mouth to disparage the disgraced angel more, but his voice was not the one that took control of the room.

"Gadreel's past indiscretions are regrettable, to say the least." Castiel interjected easily, his voice filling the room without needing to yell. "But his words regarding redemption ring true. Even if they did not, we simply do not have the resources to spare guarding him indefinitely. He has proven to be a valuable asset to the war, and one we cannot lose to equivocal distrust. Gadreel is most valuable on the front lines leading the charge -as God intended." The last part was shot directly at Afriel in a parody of the geezer's earlier words about God's agents of Heaven. The succinct reply left Afriel reeling for several moments; gaping like a fish in multiple aborted attempts to reply.

One of the other angels, who had been nodding along agreeably to every word that Afriel spoke stood quickly with a scrape of his chair. "You deserve to be here even less than Gadreel does, Murderer!" The angel slammed his fist on the table to accentuate the label. Dean saw it cut deep into Castiel's Grace, his blue eyes pained even as his expression remained carefully neutral.

No wonder the angel managed to convince Zachariah that he didn't hold doubts for as long as he had.

No wonder Cas was able to lie to them for a full year.

"Screw you Barachiel!" Balthazar also stood up with a loud screech as the chair slid several feet away from the force of the movement. His eyes were blazing with vehement defiance and protection towards his younger brother. The older Winchester couldn't help but respect that. "Castiel has done more for this war than you have. His battle plans have won countless unwinnable battles for us, and you, the glorified body guard, would question his place here?"

"Balthazar!" Gabriel reprimanded immediately after the insult was thrown. But the damage was done, and the two sides' bickering, led mostly by Balthazar, Dean, Gadreel, Afriel and Barachiel escalated to a dull, impenetrable roar. Cas's pleads and Gabriel's threats for peace throughout the room went unheeded. It was pure and utter madness unfitting of a council of angels.

A different, low baritone unlike any of the other angels broke through the confusion by virtue of the wise, calm it encompassed whole-heartedly. "Brothers, Winchesters, return to your seats." Not waiting for them to settle into their seating, the darker skinned angel, arms crossed and relaxed in the only undisturbed seat around the table, continued to speak in that enchanting voice.

"Winchesters. I am Cassiel. I am in charge of our spy network among Abbadon's army."

"Cassiel-!" Afriel interjected in sheer panic, looking wildly around the room as if he expected the demons to pop out of the walls like daisies.

A warding hand stopped whatever Afriel was going to say without Cassiel taking his eyes off the Winchesters. "I also maintain a highly classified identity that allows me to connect with my spies. It is imperative that my name doesn't leave this room. In fact, the using it out loud is also very dangerous, so I ask that you refrain. However, I feel it is within your right to know the exact circumstances behind the information I am about to present to you. I trust you recognize the gravity of this." Cassiel paused for acknowledgement from both of them before continuing.

"It is possible that Afriel's concerns are not completely unfounded," Cassiel announced to the entire room, turning his gaze on each of them with infinitely wise eyes. "Several of my spies have been ousted of late. Several who were not likely to reveal themselves in carelessness. My top informant was sent to discover how they knew of the infiltrators. He reported that he was getting close to the truth; not just regarding the spies, but also Abbadon's unexplained strength and even exactly where she is keeping captured angels that she intends to torture into demons. But, two days ago, my informant disappeared. I have no doubt that he was also captured by Abbadon.

"I believe it is imperative that we liberate my informant in haste. In order to determine exactly _who_ on this council we can trust. So we can gain detrimental information regarding the enemy's top commander. And to keep unpleasant information about _ourselves_ out of demon hands."

"This informant is privy to important information?" Gabriel asked with an air of barely masked incredulity. "Forgive me, Cassiel, but I didn't believe you were daft enough to send sensitive information into the depths of Hell."

"A large mistake on my part, unfortunately. I counted on the informant's discretion and large sense of self-preservation to keep him far from danger of capture. Clearly I was wrong." Cassiel's solemn apology was interrupted by the barest of smiles. "However, we all know a demon's need to gloat. I do believe this could be an opportunity if we manipulate it correctly."

Gabriel was nodding thoughtfully in consideration. No one wanted to break the silence. Finally, a gruff throat cleared and Cas asked quietly, "I propose we fight on two fronts. A major attack to draw the majority of Abbadon's forces away from the informant and then a small, discrete squad to infiltrate Hell and liberate the informant."

Murmurs of agreement filled the room for a moment.

"This informant... is he easy to identify?" Barachial asked.

"Oh, yes." Was that a humorous twinkle in Cassiel's eyes as he turned to Castiel? "I believe that Castiel knows him quite well. After all, it's not every day a demon and an angel ally to stop the Apocalypse. Such a... 'comrade'... isn't very forgettable."

Castiel paled slightly as Dean groaned.

"You mean to tell me," Sam said incredulously, "that your informant is Crowley?!"

Cassiel lifted his large shoulders in the smallest of shrugs. "Who else would it be?"

* * *

 **A/N: What is that I see on the horizon? Is this a new chapter? And actual plot? My God, it can't be. It's impossible. After all, we all know that I absolutely _suck_ at fast paced updating and plot. IT'S A MIRACLE!**

 **This was _supposed_ to be chapter 3. Oops. Oh, well. More fluff for you.**

 **On a more serious note. As you can probably tell, I basically used the first names that caught my eye for the other angels. If you have a problem with this or an idea for better names to use, feel free to comment. Except Cassiel. Cassiel's presence was intentional, especially his role in the spy network. As the archangel (not in this fic though) known mostly for watching events unfold, he fit right in coordinating the spies. I heard that the SPN writers got Castiel from Cassiel and I've always enjoyed the idea of Castiel being a demoted Cassiel or Cassiel being a mentor for Castiel. This is as close as I could get. Call it a cameo or whatever.**

 **And, yeah, there actually _is_ plot in this chapter. Surprise surprise. And Afriel is a dick. But oh well.**

 **Please comment, favorite or follow if you enjoyed it. It motivates me so much to see a fanfiction spammed inbox. Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed the last few chapters, as well as my Oats in the Water one-shot.**

 **Have a nice day.**


	8. Author's note

Hi guys. Long time no see. First off, I would like to apologize for the long wait. I hate it when an author never finishes a great story in the making. It's almost physically painful. That being said, I don't believe the Control counts as a great story in the making. I feel like I lost sight of the real Supernatural characters, and the story honestly feels forced and just overall _bad_ right now.

I'm planning on rewriting it to make it better.

So I have to apologize further and tell you that, as it is, this story is probably not going to get any more updates. And it may take me a while to complete the revamped version of Control to my liking. But, hey, summer vacation and I'm back on the Supernatural wagon (after if road hauled me on a chain for the last six months), so I'm gonna do my best.

I'll leave this version up until I finish the Control 2.0.

Thank you guys so much for your support and reviews and follows and favorites (etc.)! It really means a lot. If you have any recommendations or requests for other stories, I will always lend an ear. Hopefully I'll see you guys soon, with a story that is worth your attentions.

-DejaVu


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